Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Blackwater Founder, Erik Prince, Moves to Abu Dhabi

Hmm . . . it seems odd that a far right Christianist would move his family to a Muslim country, but that exactly what Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater USA and son of benefactors to numerous anti-gay organizations has done according to a story in the Virginian Pilot. Yep, Mr. Prince has moved to Abu Dhabi which conveniently has no extradition laws. Does it look suspicious? You bet it does - especially given the indictments and lawsuits plaguing Prince's subordinates and his company as well. Frankly, I have always found Prince to be creepy to say the least. Apparently, Prince is now set for depositions in Abu Dhabi next week. However, should he ultimately be indicted, the authorities will likely be unable to get him back to the USA. Here are story highlights:
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Erik Prince, whose security company once known as Blackwater has spawned a series of criminal and civil court cases, has left the United States and moved with his family to Abu Dhabi, according to court documents. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which has no extradition treaty with the United States.
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Prince does not face any criminal charges. But five former executives of the Moyock, N.C.-based company now known as Xe have been indicted on federal firearms charges, and two ex-Blackwater contractors are on trial in Norfolk, accused of murdering two civilians in Afghanistan.
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Prince’s company also faces several civil lawsuits, including one brought by two former employees in federal court in Alexandria alleging that the company has defrauded the U.S. goverment.
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Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the Alexandria case had sought to obtain a deposition from Prince before he left the country, speculating that he might not return to the United States “if he is indicted on weapons smuggling charges or other matters."
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The judge in the case has ordered Prince to appear for the deposition Monday in Abu Dhabi.

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